Chapter 904: True Lord Nine Spirits’ Condition, Lu Ancestor’s Sacrifice

The whole skeleton will turn into Imperishable Bones.

Thinking of Bing’er’s crystalline bones, shot through with Dao runes, Lu Changsheng nodded lightly.

He knew Bing’er could not reach that stage any time soon.

He went on to ask about the corpse path and how refined corpses were raised.

Yan Wujiang answered every question, holding nothing back, even revealing the essence of his sect’s inheritance.

He stated that if Lu Changsheng needed them he could send over the sect’s manuals.

Such manuals were normally the deepest secrets of any sect,

but faced with a Nascent Soul giant and reincarnated master, he dared not be stingy.

“If I have more questions, Brother Yan, I’ll trouble you again.”

Lu Changsheng had no real interest in corpse refining itself.

He asked only because of Bing’er’s condition.

Now that he had a general idea he would not spend more time on it.

If doubts arose he could just ask Yan Wujiang directly.

Why demand another’s entire inheritance?

“If my lord has any corpse-refining questions, feel free to ask me.”

Yan Wujiang said this, planning to review the sect texts once he returned.

Even as a Nascent Soul True Lord he could not claim full mastery of every art.

Many things he had only skimmed.

“Thank you for today, Brother Yan.”

Lu Changsheng took a fourth-rank spiritual item from his ring and handed it over as payment.

Since he had summoned the man to work he naturally had to provide benefit.

Only then would the other party truly exert himself.

“Many thanks, my lord.” Yan Wujiang accepted with a bow and departed.

“Did I forcibly interrupt Bing’er’s advancement?”

After Yan Wujiang left Lu Changsheng gazed at the crystal ice coffin and murmured, “Does she cling to me just because I was the first person she saw?”

He now had a preliminary judgment of Bing’er’s case.

Most likely she had been a great cultivator, near death or gravely wounded, who used corpse-dao methods to die first, then be reborn, sleeping in the Myriad Beasts Mountains to seek another life.

Whether she was the so-called “Corpse-Shedding Immortal” the Heavenly Corpse Sect Master mentioned he could not tell.

But he was sure her slumber and cultivation had been disrupted by him.

Yet according to that sect master her technique had already gone awry, which birthed the childlike mind called Bing’er.

Otherwise an intelligent corpse would never produce such a pure consciousness.

As for her closeness to him, even the sect master could not explain.

He guessed it was because she saw Lu Changsheng first,

or was drawn by some trait on him.

Lu Changsheng could indeed name a few traits,

the Chaos Body, for instance.

But when he met Bing’er he had only just broken through to Core Formation; what rare trait could he have then?

He stopped overthinking, stowed the coffin in the Heavenly Yuan Lotus, and went to ask Ah Youduo about Gu insects and Immortal Gu.

Afterward—

afterward—

afterward—

Holding Ah Youduo, whose skin glowed rosy, shifting from maiden to young woman to mature beauty and back again, Lu Changsheng questioned her about the Dao of Gu.

As a Nascent Soul expert in poison and Gu, Ah Youduo had profound knowledge.

She even knew how to craft Earth-Rank and Heaven-Rank Gu from her inheritance.

But she knew little about promoting a Heaven-Rank Gu to Immortal Gu.

“My lord, advancing a Gu is far harder than raising a demon beast.”

Ah Youduo spoke, cheeks flushed and breath short.

A beast needed only treasures or demon cores matching its bloodline to grow rapidly,

but Gu insects did not.

One had to tailor a refinement method to each Gu’s nature.

While rare wonders could directly raise a Gu’s grade,

such resources were scarce and usually merely pushed mortal Gu to spirit Gu, spirit to profound spirit, and so on.

She had never heard of a Heaven-Rank Gu leaping straight to Immortal.

“If you want an Immortal Gu without the method, gather resources matching its attributes and explore from there.”

Thinking he wanted to evolve the Peach Blossom Gu, she offered to help research it.

“No rush. I’m only learning.”

The Peach Blossom Gu in his sea of consciousness had digested most of the Dao Seed “Blushing Peach Blossom” and lay half-dormant.

Once fully digested it would reach fourth rank and gain a great boost.

Whether it could jump straight to Immortal Gu he did not know, but he looked forward to it.

After the Gu discussion he exchanged Dao insights with Ah Youduo to aid her cultivation.

She had switched to the Ten Thousand Calamities Toxic Spirit Codex yet her Nascent Soul grade lagged behind.

If she could raise it to Earth Dao grade she might reach mid-Nascent Soul.

Before outsiders the Five Poisons Sect Leader appeared as a stern little girl with awe-inspiring might,

yet while talking Dao with Lu Changsheng she was obedient, pliable, and even girlishly shy, a charm none of his other wives possessed.

No one knew how long before Ah Youduo, breathless and blushing, rubbed her slightly bulging belly and asked if he had solved her secret art’s side effects.

She had first submitted partly under pressure,

partly for the Dragon Emperor Essence to wash her Nascent Soul foundation.

She had never intended to bear a child.

But now, with Lu Changsheng a Nascent Soul who had ended the Liang-Yue war and shaken the world, she feared being left behind.

Given time she would be far outpaced.

More outstanding women would appear around him.

To keep the bond she must deepen it.

A child was the best way.

From Lu Minghuang, Lu Jiangtang, and Qu Changtian she could tell he valued his children.

If she produced a gifted heir he would treat mother and child well.

“Hand me the fragment. I’ll study it when I can.”

Seeing her petite misty-eyed face Lu Changsheng realized she wanted a baby.

Though he had sired none for years,

his passion for fatherhood had never faded.

He had simply been busy, and with his Nascent Soul cultivation and fourth-rank body refinement it was no longer easy—

a little effort no longer got a woman pregnant.

Moreover, ordinary women struggled to bear his bloodline,

so the difficulty had risen sharply.

Ah Youduo’s initiative delighted him.

Willingness to be a mother meant her heart had truly surrendered.

As a Nascent Soul with a top-tier Spirit Body she could surely bear a gifted child.

She at once handed over the fragmented manual.

He skimmed but did not study it deeply yet.

Though he knew many top arts,

they were all system inheritances; he knew the how, not always the why,

so he could not solve the secret art at a glance.

After their deep exchange he asked her to return to the Five Poisons Sect and send people to Liang Kingdom.

He would visit in a few days.

After she left he did not rush to cultivate the God-Devouring Technique; he tapped his pouch.

A delicate ancient furnace shaped like a reclining goddess emerged.

“Buzz—”

Its lid opened and a Nascent Soul bound with silver threads fell into his hand.

Next came another soul wrapped in talismans and restriction light, as if asleep.

They were True Lord Nine Spirits and the Holy Maiden of Beast God Mountain.

“Fellow Daoist Nine Spirits, have you decided?”

Lu Changsheng looked at the soul tied with silver threads and spoke calmly.

Nine Spirits said nothing.

Yangming True Lord promised that if he submitted he could rebuild Beast God Mountain and spare Youyue,

yet as former ruler of Liang how could he bow to his destroyer?

Submitting to one’s enemy was hard to swallow.

Lu Changsheng knew he would not yield easily and looked at the sealed Holy Maiden.

“Eighteen Echoes of God-Devouring, Infinite Divine Resonance.”

He ran the God-Devouring Technique; the golden man in his brow formed seals and uttered eerie syllables.

The Holy Maiden’s soul trembled; screams and roars filled her mind.

Senses unsealed, she opened her eyes and saw the nearby soul bound in silver.

She froze.

That weak soul—

was her ancestor, True Lord Nine Spirits.

“Ancestor?!” she cried.

She had sealed her senses waiting for rescue.

How could even the ancestor be captured?

“Hmph, Yangming, you won’t fool me with illusions!”

She insisted this was a trick.

Lu Changsheng chuckled; the woman was tough.

He smiled at Nine Spirits. “Even if you won’t think of yourself, think of the others.”

“Submit and not only will she live, your Gold Mane Lion King will live too.”

“If you perform well I might even help you restore a Nascent Soul and your peak.”

Lu was an expert at drawing big pies.

He promised freely.

If the man served loyally future treasures could indeed be given.

Nine Spirits looked conflicted.

Such promises were airy,

yet sparing Youyue, the Lion King, and rebuilding the mountain tempted him.

Who wanted to die after reaching Nascent Soul?

If he died would the scattered disciples really rebuild the sect?

“This isn’t an illusion?”

The Holy Maiden sensed something off.

Could such realism be faked?

“No, it must be fake!” she insisted.

She refused to believe ancestor and the Lion King were captured.

Those two together could fight a mid-stage Nascent Soul.

“If you have a condition, name it.”

Lu wished to subdue this overlord.

After a long silence Nine Spirits said weakly, “I have one condition. If True Lord agrees I will submit.”

“Name it.”

“You already have children, proving you don’t mind more.”

“So my condition is that you and Youyue produce a child and send one to Beast God Mountain to be raised.”

He had little hope of regaining peak power.

He mainly wanted the mountain and bloodline to survive.

Once he yielded, what of the disciples in Yuan Kingdom?

What if Yangming killed him when done?

Recalling Yangming’s promise to make Youyue a concubine, he formed this plan.

Let Yangming and Youyue have children.

Even a tiger won’t eat its cubs.

With a child inheriting the mountain it would live on.

Surely Yangming would not destroy his own child’s sect.

He might even help it rise.

Handing over the foundation? He did not think so.

First, the child carried his blood.

Second, inheriting the mountain meant strengthening it.

“Insolence!”

Lu’s face darkened.

He had negotiated sincerely yet Nine Spirits used his children as chips.

Though willing to sacrifice, being treated like breeding stock angered him.

“Hm?” The Holy Maiden blinked,

then glared at Lu, thinking it another humiliating illusion.

“That is my only demand,” Nine Spirits said. “Once Youyue bears your child I will swear fealty.”

“I will pour my heart into raising that child and never shame your bloodline.”

Lu stared at him.

After a moment he said, “Fine, I accept, but only if the junior herself agrees.”

“I never force the unwilling.”

For the clan and the bigger picture he compromised.

Nine Spirits brightened and called, “Youyue.”

“Ancestor…”

She had heard everything, unable yet unwilling to believe.

“Youyue, this is no illusion. Beast God Mountain has fallen.”

He sighed.

She bit her lip and struggled, but seals suppressed her power.

He sighed again and asked Lu for privacy.

Lu obliged, putting both souls into the Divine Maiden’s Furnace.

Half an hour later their talk ended.

She had accepted reality.

While her senses were sealed the war had ended and the mountain shattered,

True Lord Tiancang was captured,

the Flood Dragon Holy Son was dead,

True Lord Incinerating Wither had surrendered,

True Lord Yunmei’s whereabouts were unknown but likely escaped to Yuan Kingdom,

and the Demonic Mastermind fled without fighting.

The Holy Maiden felt heavy; reviving the mountain fell to her.

As Holy Maiden and descendant she accepted sacrifice.

She had once obeyed orders to wed the Flood Dragon Holy Son.

Now it was merely a different man.

With that former marriage she would have led.

With Yangming she would be a concubine.

The word stung.

In the past her pride would never allow it.

Now she was a captive and the mountain ruined.

She could choose death,

but she bore the ancestor’s hopes.

Besides, being concubine depended on whom.

To the Flood Dragon Holy Son? Never.

To the man who subdued Liang and slew many Nascent Souls? Less intolerable.

Seeing her agree, Lu nodded. “From now on you are my concubine.”

He tore off the fourth-rank sealing talisman on her soul so it could return to her body,

then released the body from the furnace.

Seeing her own body, her face went icy with shame.

Yet she obediently merged with it.

Soul and flesh had been apart too long and needed time to align.

Lu felt awkward when he saw her tall, wild figure clad only in a bandeau and short skirt.

Earlier, fearing a trap, he had locked a beast-control collar on her neck and chained her wrists and ankles.

After the battle he dumped the body in the furnace without removing them.

Now letting her reunite made him worry she’d think he had strange fetishes.

Moments later power surged; she opened her eyes.

She was as tall as Lu, pale-purple hair flying,

her once doll-like body now brimmed with wild beauty.

Even Lu had to admit her looks.

Especially that fierce face with a beast collar…

“Clank—”

Lu lifted the chain.

Since his image was already ruined he no longer cared.

After all, shameless Yangming had nothing to do with righteous Lu.

Her face flushed; long legs trembled.

She, Fang Qingyou, had never suffered such shame.

Yet remembering the ancestor’s plea,

and the mountain’s future, she endured.

“Clank—”

As Lu tugged, she felt utterly humiliated.

Yet he was ultimately gentle; he did not truly treat her like a beast.

Soon he began the task needed for Nine Spirits’ complete submission.

Only when she carried his child would Nine Spirits truly yield.

Inside the cave,

chains rattled endlessly.

A curvy silhouette swayed, hips rolling, long jade legs crossing.

Who knew how long before those perfect legs bent to kneel, drawing a sensuous arc.

“Youyue, it’s your first time. Rest well.”

Lu held her limp body and spoke softly.

“If my lord isn’t satisfied we can keep going, I can take it.”

Her cheeks glowed; damp purple hair clung to her face, snowy shoulders radiating tragic beauty.

No sooner had she spoken than she gasped, angry that his physique was so overwhelming.

Even as a Nascent Soul with top third-rank body refinement, this was her first time yet she was too weak.

But Lu excelled at dealing with stubborn cases.

A quarter hour later she sobbed for mercy.

He fed her a pill and massaged her meridians, healing bruises.

Days later, remembering he still had to cultivate the God-Devouring Technique’s second layer,

Lu condensed a “God-Devouring Seed” and lodged it in her sea of consciousness.

He sent her with the Five Poisons and Heavenly Corpse cultivators to Liang Kingdom to handle prisoners.

Though he wanted her pregnant soon,

at Nascent Soul level conception was extremely hard.

Effort, secret arts, and chance-boosting treasures were all needed.

He planned to have Ah Youduo craft fertility Gu and prepare pills before trying again.

“Yes.” The Holy Maiden’s legs trembled as she left the cave.

Finding herself in the Yin Ghost Sect, she felt dazed.

Back then True Lord Mingsha had advanced thanks to Beast God Mountain’s aid, sparking the war.

Now the war was lost, the mountain broken, and even the Yin Ghost Sect had changed hands.

All of it started with her current master—Lord of Dameng City, True Lord Yangming.

After messaging Ah Youduo and the Heavenly Corpse Sect Master, Lu had her lead people to Liang Kingdom.

He felt secure about her.

First, Nine Spirits and her lifebound Heavenly Wolf were still in his grasp.

Second, the God-Devouring Seed was domineering.

At first-layer mastery he could form three seeds.

They could parasitize, siphon thought, restrain, and monitor.

If she misbehaved he could wound her instantly and locate her.

Third, besides the seed he had her soul lamp from Nine Spirits’ ring.

With it he could divine her situation.

With these measures he had no worries.

After all instructions he condensed a second seed and implanted it in the Ghost Tree to aid cultivation.

“Though the first layer allows three seeds, forming several in a short time strains me.”

After the second seed a wave of fatigue hit.

He felt the surveillance on the Holy Maiden weaken slightly.

He swallowed a soul-nourishing pill, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating the second layer.

He summoned Meng Xiaochan and told her that if heaven-shaking signs appeared again she must activate the formation to muffle them.

Meng Xiaochan was astonished; her husband’s last secret art had already rocked the sky,

yet he was now practicing another such technique?

Did he need no time to comprehend anything?

“As expected of my husband!” Her beautiful eyes filled with worship. She asked nothing and cultivated nearby to guard him.

At the same time, in Yuan Kingdom—

True Lord Yunmei received Nightmare Eye’s message that Heavenly Eye had emerged from seclusion and called a meeting, and she hurried over.

Earlier she and Nightmare Eye had escorted the elites of Barebody Sect and Beast God Mountain safely into Yuan Kingdom.

By agreement, once Barebody Sect relocated they could occupy a fourth-rank spirit vein in Qiyun Kingdom.

But that hinged on True Lord Nine Spirits probing Yangming’s strength in detail.

Now Beast God Mountain was destroyed and Nine Spirits missing, presumed dead.

The major powers of Yuan Kingdom immediately split over Barebody Sect’s relocation.

They felt the fourth-rank land should not be handed over for nothing.

Nightmare Eye and Yunmei, sharing hardship, reported the matter to their own Heavenly Eye.

As long as this mid-stage Nascent Soul Heavenly Eye nodded, the dissent would be suppressed.